Insider Updates CD Edition
Company: Insider Software
Price: $199.00 through May 31 1998
$299 thereafter
http://www.theinside.com
When I first heard of Insider Software’s “Insider Updates CD Edition”, I was a little skeptical. What is it? “It” is a CD-ROM mailed to you quarterly with thousands of updates for most Macintosh programs. With Insider Updates, the program will search your hard drive and find all the programs and files that need to be updated. All the updates are then put on your hard drive. Sounds simple enough, but the price had seemed a little steep to me at first glance. What I did not realize was what a savings in time Insider Updates would really save me.
After installing the Insider Updates program on my Mac, I launched the program and let it do its thing. Insider Updates then scans all drives connected to my Mac, or I can have it focus on only one. With a segmented internal drive, I let it look at both my drives. I was expecting a slow process, but I was very pleased that after only ten or so seconds, the program had a list already made out of which software needed to be updated.
The list of outdated programs was much larger than I had thought. I’m a regular Internet browser, and I like to think I keep up with updating my software as good as anyone else. Better, in fact, as I am constantly looking to keep my system running smooth, and the best way of doing so is to keep my programs up-to-date. Insider Updates then shows me which files need to be updated.
Not only did it show me which programs needed updating; it also showed me other very important information I really do want to know. How large is the update? Here is where you come to realize just how much of a time saving product Insider Updater really is. On the window above, you can only see a few of the programs needing updating. However, in this window alone, Insider Updates is saving me over 37MB of download time. Do some quick math, based on your modem speed, and figure out how long it would take you to download all those programs. Unless you have a T-1 line, it’s going to take you quite some time to get all these programs. And that’s not figuring time-spent wading through Web site after Web site trying to find the update.
(Note: Insider Updates is not limited to commercial programs, and includes shareware and freeware programs. This is a very welcome addition, as many of us use shareware programs as much, if not more, than their commercial brethren.)
After deciding which of the updates I really want to use (Internet Explorer, for instance, was not one I really felt like updating right now) I told the program where to install all the stuffed files. I created a new folder (untitled folder, as you can see at the bottom of the picture above) and hit “Get”.
All the .sit updates are then installed onto my hard drive, and I can then update all the files anytime I wish. Insider Updates is a two CD-ROM set, and halfway through the installation of your update files, it does ask for the other CD. This is fast and painless, and hardly slows anything down.
The Summary
This is a great time saving system for many people. For the average home user, I would not recommend spending this much money to keep your programs up-to-date. Most people use a handful of programs on a daily basis, and updating should not normally take you very long. There are many dedicated software update listings on the Web. (AppleLinks.com
and Insanely-Great.com
, for example) For Macintosh Managers, however, this will be one of the most efficient time saving tools you can buy. It’s fast, has a great introductory offer, and comes free with the Online Edition of Insider Updates, which normally costs $84 a year.
I really like the concept behind Insider Updates. Better yet, I really like the fact that a company like Insider Software is creating such a great service for the Macintosh platform. This is a great program, the interface is very easy and smooth, and it delivers on its promise. What more could you want in a product?
MacMice Rating: 3
Tim Robertson (publisher@mymac.com)
Websites mentioned:
http://www.theinside.com
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